1 pleads guilty, another goes on trial in 2005 murder of Spartanburg man

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 10:14 PM

One man pleaded guilty and another went on trial Wednesday in the murder of Abdul Haleem Ali II on Aug. 31, 2005.

By KIM KIMZEYkim.kimzey@shj.com

One man pleaded guilty and another went on trial Wednesday in the murder of Abdul Haleem Ali II on Aug. 31, 2005.Ali was killed during an early morning home invasion.Assistant solicitor Danny Fulmer said Ali was asleep when men stormed into his apartment at 2117 Oakhurst Circle, shot him in his bed and stole his wallet and car.The suspects left driving Ali's customized royal-blue Chevrolet Caprice with a solid white interior, large chrome wheels and "glass pack" mufflers.In opening statements, Fulmer gestured to a chrome wheel and told jurors "I want to show you why we're here today."The trial of Michael Marion Arnold, 32, began after Roosevelt D. Ross, 32, pled guilty to his involvement in the murder.Arnold was charged with the murder in October 2009.Arnold's attorney, public defender Beverly Jones, declared that Arnold was not one of the people who took part in Ali's murder and robbery."He is an innocent man," Jones told jurors.Jones called Ali's death a tragedy. She added it also would be tragic if the state fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Arnold committed the crime and jurors convict an innocent man.Ali's former neighbors testified Wednesday that they heard gunfire the morning he was murdered. A woman who lived in the unit was awakened by gunfire, called police and said she crouched beside her bed. She said she later heard someone call for help, but did not answer because police were on their way. Her apartment was directly adjacent to Ali's and she said bullets went into her kitchen and living room.Another neighbor testified she heard shots early that morning and got her children out of bed and onto the floor. Both neighbors said they heard Ali's car leave — saying it had a distinct sound that they recognized — but neither saw anyone.A deputy who was among the first on the scene testified that he spoke to a man who said he heard gunshots. Around that same time, a call came in that an individual with gunshot wounds was at a convenience store located at South Pine Street and Country Club Road.The deputy arrived to find Ali covered in blood and suffering from several gunshot wounds. His speech was incoherent and all the deputy could make out was his last name. Ali later died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.The investigation was turned over to Spartanburg Public Safety Department after it was later determined that the incident occurred in its jurisdiction.Investigator Edgar Guthro with Spartanburg Public Safety testified that seven bullet holes were found in walls to the adjacent apartment and investigators recovered five bullets."Numerous bullet holes" made by different caliber guns were inside the victim's home.SLED Agent Kenneth Whitler testified that five weapons were fired.One of the state's witnesses found Ali's driver's license and debit card in the driveway of her home on Winsmith Avenue. She notified police, who searched the area and found latex gloves that were taken into evidence.The witness said people often cut through the driveway.It's the same area where Steven Lamar Hoey — a former suspect and now a state's witness — said he cut through in the early morning hours of Aug. 31 and where two "guys" attacked him.Hoey testified that he saw the suspects going through Ali's car, which he recognized, and said one person grabbed him from behind and someone else hit him across the face and pointed a gun at him. He testified that he heard a man yell in the distance for the suspects to leave him alone. He said he was robbed of $80, but could not identify his attackers.Hoey had been charged in June 2007 with Ali's murder. He admitted on the stand that he previously has been convicted of breaking into motor vehicles, and when asked if he had been charged with murdering Ali, he said the charge was thrown out last week.Another of the state's witnesses testified she did not remember that night or whether she called Arnold. She knew Arnold's cousins and said they often hung out; if she couldn't find them, she called Arnold to see where they were.She also knew the victim. She said Ali hung out with her brother."I was like, ‘Dog, that was messed up.' He was good people," she said after learning of his death.A lot of people liked his rims, she said.Whoever took the car did not travel far. Truck driver John Maxwell testified that he hit Ali's car after it pulled out in front of him on Aug. 31, 2005 on I-26 near Summerville. He said two black males got out of the car and asked him to drive them to a store. Maxwell said he would not until police arrived to the accident scene and that the men left.Arnold's trial began after Circuit Judge Roger Couch sentenced Roosevelt D. Ross, 32, to life in prison following his confession. Ross is serving a sentence for assault and battery with intent to kill that occurred in Charleston County, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.He was serving time for that crime at Lieber Correctional Institution when he contacted Spartanburg attorney John Reckenbeil and confessed to his involvement in Ali's murder, Reckenbeil said at a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday. At the time, Reckenbeil represented Hoey.Ross' criminal record dates back to 1997. He also was convicted of trafficking cocaine in federal court. His attorney, public defender Roger Poole, requested that Couch impose the minimum 30-year sentence since Ross took responsibility for the crime.Two of Ali's relatives asked for a life sentence. Ali's sister said that although Ross admitted to murdering her brother, he has never apologized. Ross, Ali's mother said, had a chance to change his life before killing her son.

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